Kent swaps to Hyundai Veloster to defend his TCR UK crown
Double TCR UK champion Lewis Kent will bring a new car to the championship this year as he targets a hat-trick of titles.
After winning his 2020 and 2021 crowns in a Hyundai i30 N, Kent will now switch to a brand-new Hyundai Veloster N as his Essex & Kent Motorsport team expands to a three-car line-up.
The squad’s two i30 Ns will be driven by Kent’s younger brother Bradley, a triple race winner last year, and Junior Saloon graduate Scott Sumpton.
“The car is new but it is practically the same as the i30, just a different body shape,” Kent Sr said of the Veloster, which has yet to race in Europe, but took IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge honours in the
US last year. “We’re getting more support from Hyundai as well, which is great.”
Following a one-off appearance last year, Isaac Smith will join the championship full-time in a Volkswagen Golf prepared by Race Car Consultants, while fellow Mini Challenge race winner Brad Hutchison moves across with MPH Racing to pilot an Audi RS3 LMR. Also switching from the Mini Challenge are Callum Newsham (Power Maxed Racing Cupra) and Matthew Wilson, whose JW Bird Motorsport Cupra Leon Competicion will be the first of its kind to be raced in Britain.
Bruce Winfield, last year’s TCR UK runner-up, has upgraded to a sequentialspecification Cupra TCR after taking his DSG car to two wins last year.